The Ancients
by SouthernMic
Summary: The Ancients give Janet and Sam a second chance.


My story, in a sense, begins before the dawn of man. Not to say that I'm older then all mankind; hardly. My life is made up of only a handful of years. During this time of under-development for Earth, the Ancients had long ago conquered traveling the stars. Having already formed the beginnings of scientific and spiritual trade amongst the other star-faring races, the many galaxies all but completely explored. Growing bored with this endeavor, they turned their attentions inward.

Against their far-reaching better judgment, the Ancients sought to improve upon nature itself. One thing that must be stressed at this point in the telling is that the Ancients were not of the assumption that they were better then nature, god, whatever it is you happen to believe in. Instead, they were driven by a curiosity to understand how such an invisible force can alter the makeup of every living creature in the universe.

To that end, they created a race that would eventually be called the Th'ordlin. They were a brilliant race, but a race that was doomed from the moment they left the Ancients' birthing tanks. For all the things that their makers would impart to them, the Ancients missed one, crucial detail. A soul.

All humans assume that having a soul is a fundamental key to life… once someone has life, they must certainly have a soul. Not so. The mechanizations of life are not nearly that simple; the Th'ordlin would learn this lesson with great hardship attached. Where once the Ancients looked with pride upon their creations, this pride would quickly turn to a morbid fascination. A fascination that would blind them to an ever-increasing danger being bred within their child race.

For centuries the Th'ordlin tried vainly to correct the error, but what can such creatures do when a simple thing like imagination and genius are lost to them as well? The knowledge of science can only take you so far… it is innovation that allows a man to reach beyond that knowledge and create achievement.

It was in their failure that they found rage. Striking out blindly against their makers, the Th'ordlin killed millions before the Asguard were able to defend themselves appropriately. They were a peaceful race, and violence was never something they could easily understand or employ. I don't have this same affliction fortunately.

As these two races fought bitterly for life, their battlegrounds tended to bleed over into surrounding worlds and galaxies. Finally the council races stepped in, almost decimating the Th'ordlin… but were ultimately unable to finish the job. Exterminating an entire race of people seemed to be somewhat distasteful to them. Did I mention that the Asguard aren't perfect? Lack of sound judgment I find.

To protect against any further hostilities cropping up between the Council of Four and the Th'ordlin, sentinels were placed on all of the protected worlds… soldiers against a desperate race. Representatives of each race were chosen and cloned. The clones were then altered in such a way that they could fight against almost every possible threat. It was to be a lonely job, one filled with war. Their only consolation, the sentinels would have each other.

The Asguard quickly chose among the species of man who they felt would be their best specimens. It would be a rather interesting choice, one that would greatly affect man's Stargate Program like no other. They would pick a brilliant soldier, and a healer that had fallen before her time.

We were made together, separated only in flesh. Whispering silently in the darkness while our forming bodies lay suspended in time. Her heartbeat and thoughts would prove to be my only companion. I would snuggle deeper into her lean frame, brushing my lips gently against her shoulder, our bodies immersed in liquid. Safety in her arms was my constant.

My earliest memory of 'life' is peering through the thick film of gestation liquid at the creature I was to call 'Father'. I thought it strange how such a thing could stand upright given that his head was almost bigger than his chest cavity, but who was I to second-guess nature's humorous display of balance? Standing beside him was a tall, lean blonde woman whom I recognized immediately in some distant way that humans remember dreams. I knew she was meant to be there, that she had always been there… waiting for me.

My first few years of life were spent training, learning, living and loving the woman I would know to be Elizabeth. A distant part of me also knew her as Samantha, a beautiful woman my second self loved more then life. That same part of me, long forgotten, knew that I had once been known as Janet. We were never far apart, Elizabeth and I, and never out of easy reach. We were continuing the need and love that our predecessors had felt for each other, but could never act upon. They were cowards.

At night I would dream of distant worlds, and distant people. I would dream of a life without Elizabeth in it… a life where we were not lovers. I would sometimes sense a yearning that had been long unfulfilled and long remembered. At those times, I would cling to Elizabeth all the more, immersing myself in her. I didn't realize until later how passionate we were for each other, how needful. And that need would never wane. We had been made for each other, one incomplete without the other.

It would be almost two years after our birth that we would come before our Father to learn our… fate.

As we stood there, looking out into the void of space, watching Earth hang silently above us, I realized two things. One, I would never be alone, ever. My father had insured this… Elizabeth and I would always be together, even in death. And second, this world would be a harsh one. Reaching blindly for Elizabeth's long fingered hand, I prayed to a god my second self remembered. Searching the foggy memories of a childhood I never shared, I prayed to whomever would listen.

I prayed for our lives. I prayed also that if we fell, we would fall together.


End file.
